Sunday, November 20, 2011

1st trip without the boys

This past weekend I went away, no husband, no children. I went to visit my sister up in Boston. Approaching the trip, I had mixed feelings. I was eager to visit her, to have a girls' weekend, and to go back to a city that I love; but I worried about how much I would miss the boys, and how Eric would handle a full weekend alone with them. Fortunately, everyone had a great weekend, both at home and away!

I left early on Saturday morning, and Eric and the boys drove me to the airport. I flew up to Boston, and it was such an easy trip. Not too many people at the airport, the flight left on time and arrived early, and the weather was perfect. My sister picked me up and we went to breakfast at Hi-Rise, which was where I was working At the time when Eric and I met and started dating. The managers there are the same ones from when I worked there, so it's always nice to catch up. We ate a lot of food, and then visited my mom's parents, who were happy to see us.

After visiting the family, we did some shopping in Harvard Square, but didn't have much luck finding anything. There aren't many stores left there; when I was younger there were a lot of stores we loved to visit, like Wordsworth Books, and they are now gone.

We went back to my sister's house and then went out for a long jog around Somerville and Medford, where she lives and goes to school. I saw her school campus, and some of the restaurants around, and the neighborhood. It's a cute area, with a lot to do.

Then we hung out until it was time for dinner, at Rendezvous in Central Square. We had a nice time just the two girls, and ate a lot of food (what's new?). My sister forced me to stop in at a party after dinner, even though it was after 10 pm and therefore my bedtime. I managed an hour, though! And then we went home to go to bed, and I couldn't sleep. Every time I started to fall asleep, I would start to think about my little boys at home in their pj's and how I hadn't kissed them goodnight and wouldn't be there when they woke up.

Eventually I managed to fall asleep, and then I slept until 9 am! I can't remember the last time I slept that late, but it was very nice. We made a huge brunch with her roommates, one of her roommate's parents, the downstairs neighbor, and my friend Cass. That lasted a while, and when it was over, Elana and I decided to go ride bikes.

Let me say that I have not really ridden a bike since we lived in Texas, and we left there in 1997. I don't own a bike, or a helmet, or anything. But it was nice weather, and I thought it might be fun. There's a bike share at her school, and so we rented a bike for me. Turns out that the bike wasn't really in tip-top shape- the seat wouldn't stay in one place, so it tilted up and down and swiveled side to side while I rode. We didn't end up getting very far, because on top of the bike not being great, I was not a great bike rider. At one point, my sister rode between a line of parked cars and a line of cars waiting at a red light, and I tried to follow, got nervous, and attempted to jump off the bike, which led to me lying on the ground with the bike on top of me. The guy in the car next to me rolled his window down and asked if I was ok... I assured him that I was fine, but out of practice. Oy!

We stopped for a hot dog and curly fries at Spike's, which started in Providence, mere yards from my freshman dorm, and was a staple of my late, drunken nights in college.

Then we made a mad dash to Flour Bakery, because their cookbook is my current obsession. That is another post in and of itself, because I could go on forever about the recipes in there. I got a brownie for Eric, and a half-sandwich and cookie for myself. I had the brownie in one bag, and the sandwich and cookie in another, and the brownie weighed more! It was very rich and delicious.

After that, it was pretty much time to go on. I probably could have continued eating for another week, but I had to leave. I had another uneventful and efficient flight home, and got home around 10 pm on Sunday night.

While I had a wonderful weekend away, and a great time with my sister, it was hard to come home. I was happy to see all 3 of my boys again, but I found our routine hard on Monday and Tuesday. It's hard to believe that 2 days away would throw me off so much, but it did. Eric said he thought that the boys had missed me-- at one point Asher was at the front door crying out "Ma! Ma!" but on Monday I didn't notice any major excitement in seeing me. I gave them extra kisses anyway, because I needed them.

Next up it's Eric's turn. I'm not sure what exactly he'll do, but we're talking about him taking a week long (or 10 day) meditation retreat. He had wanted to do that when I was pregnant, but when I was put on bed rest, all his plans went on hold so that he could babysit me. The trip is long overdue for him!

I don't have anymore trips away from the boys planned, but I would love it if Eric and I went somewhere this spring or summer. We'll see...

About Me

I'm a 33 year-old woman with twin sons, born in March 2010, who were conceived with IVF. In April of 2012 I got a surprise- and now have a beautiful baby girl! In my first pregnancy, I was put on bedrest at 21 weeks for a shortening cervix, and created this blog so I can remember my pregnancy and life with twins... and now with one more!